vonnieda.org

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So, the other Sunday morning Courtney and I decided to go have a nice breakfast at the IHOP on Shawnee Mission and Antioch. We got seated quickly and everything was going great. Our waitress seemed a little flustered but so did everyone else. The place was super, super busy.

Anyway, there was a group of people sitting right behind us. I think it was either 2 or 3 people in a 4 person booth. Soon after we arrived, they left. Right before they left I thought I overheard our waitress comment to another waitress, “I think they are finally leaving.” which struck me as kinda odd. As soon as they left I heard her exclaim “5 hours!” and she said it quite a few more times.

I eventually asked her what the deal was and she said that the people had been sitting in that booth for five hours. I said “I hope they left a good tip at least” and she said they left her 3 dollars.

3 dollars. Five hours. Sixty cents per hour.

So, while these assholes took up one of this waitresses tables for five hours she was losing every tip she could have gotten. To throw some random numbers out; Courtney and I were at our table for maybe 30 minutes. If everyone eats in around 30 minutes then that table could have handled 10 parties in those 5 hours.
My bill was something like $12 or $15 so figure maybe a $3 tip each. That’s $30 she could have made and instead she made a tenth of that.

How fucked up is that?

Anyway, yea, assholes.

This weekend was Courtney’s birthday party at my house and it was a smash hit! She has a post about it at attentionwhore.org and pictures on Flickr.

The party was a ton of fun and there was a great turnout. I lasted till around 3am and apparently quite a few people kept rocking till the breaka-breaka dawn. Woo!

Last night we went and had dinner at PF Changs and then saw 300 at the Cinemark VIP Room. 300 was really good, and really bloody. I thought it was a little cheesy at parts, but still excellent.

Trip planning is going slow. I am kind of seized up because I feel like I can’t get things wrapped up at home fast enough. Trying to work through that. I still have no place to keep Sonja and I haven’t begun to move things into storage. I also need to get my immunizations. The immensity of what I have to do before I go keeps making me hide from getting anything done. And the whole money issue is terrifying. So there’s that.

Bleh!

Before this page completely expires I should say something, but as is often the case when I’ve waited too long too much has happened and I don’t know where to start.

So, I’ll start with last night. I bought the backpack I will use for my trip. It’s a Kelty Redwing 3100 and it’s pretty sweet. This morning I did a test pack and was able to get 2 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts, a sweater, plenty o’ socks and underwear, towel, laptop, various electronics and bathroom supplies in there with room to spare and it was super comfortable. Much easier than my last jaunt where I was carrying half of that and it felt heavier. And it has an ice axe loop. Gonna need that.

I got the pack at Bass Pro Shop, which just opened in Olathe. Courtney and I had an excellent dinner at Carrabas and then decided to check the place out. It’s pretty big. And woodsy. Yup.

Um. I took this week off work to catch up on various things. Did the Explorer’s brakes, did Courtney’s brakes, read a lot. Crap like that.

Um.

I’ve been working on this new project that I’m not really ready to talk about too much, so for now just sit back and watch the Blinkenlights…

America, you are welcome.

I think I’ve used this title before. Sad.

Anyway, I’ve been struggling with understanding how transistors really work for… basically my entire life. It’s just one of those things I was never able to “get”. Today, I finally get it. This page was finally able to make it clear to me.

I really wish I had gone to college for EE. It’s like programming, which I love, except sometimes things explode, which I also love!

I was reading this article about American Idol and it made me realize how fucked up that show is.

My inability to watch others get cut down is well documented. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t watch TV. (For new readers, I have not watched TV in about 10 years or so.) I get embarrassed for the person being torn apart and it makes me really uncomfortable. Anyway, a few years ago when I was dieting and going to the gym regularly I caught parts of a few American Idol episodes while trudging along on the treadmill. I was usually able to handle about 1 minute of one audition before I ended back on infomercials.

I don’t want to come off as some weepy idealist, but why is America watching this show? I’m guessing a lot of people will say for the music or whatever, but how many of you own an American Idol winner’s CD? People watch it cause they get a kick out of seeing people getting hurt. It’s kind of fucked up. How is it different from watching someone get flogged and laughing about it when they scream, or break into tears? Aside from physical wounds not lasting nearly as long as emotional ones, I mean.

Whatever though, that’s not really what bothers me. The thing that bothers me is that the judges, instead of being useful and using the chance to maybe help someone, have become the entertainment. They are expected to tear someone down completely, instead of correcting them or helping them on their way.

“You look like one of those creatures that live in the woods with those massive eyes,” infamous judge Simon Cowell told one “Idol” hopeful.

Comon, is that really necessary? Now, I am all about not coddling people. The world is a rough place and you have to grow a few millimeters of skin to manage it but I don’t feel like that gives people a license to be cruel for entertainment’s sake.

What if the American Idol judges told the people they didn’t like what was wrong with their act and gave them some ideas on how to fix it without resorting to personal insults? Would you still watch it?

For fuck’s sake, can’t we just be a little nicer to each other?

I bought some RGB SuperFlux LEDs off eBay the other day and today they showed up direct from Hong Kong. The manufacturer, I think, is TopBright. Anyway, I can’t find a data sheet and the only info I can find is scattered all over the eBay auction so I scratched this data sheet together and am putting it here for reference.
TopBright SuperFlux RGB LED Data Sheet

So, back in mid-December Courtney and I cruised down to Tahlequah, OK to hang out with Megan on her birthday. Ryan was in town too, and we hooked up with her, him, Emily, the other Ryan, Dana and that other girl and partied our asses off after having some yummy Thai food. Courtney also spent some time with her Mom and Dad, and I got to lose myself on teeny tiny roads through areas with names like “Punkin’ Holler”.

Tahlequah is the town Courtney is from, and don’t you dare call it a reservation. It’s Native American alright, but not a reservation, damnit. Jokes aside, it’s a beautiful place and I want to see it in Spring.

Then… it was Christmas. That was pretty cool.

Then… it was New Years! Almost! Before New Years it was A Turning Point.

You, the faithful reader, have known for some time how restless I am. I talk about wanderlust and my love of travel and how much I enjoyed my trip in Europe and so on. Well, something happened.

Courtney was telling me about this book she picked up over lunch called “Vagabonding” that describes the art of leaving your life behind and hitting the road for long periods of time. I’ve wanted to do this for a long, long time and it turned out that Courtney accidentally left that book at my place one night. Friday, I believe.

I should probably mention here that Courtney and I have been dating for a while, and that’s really cool. You already knew anyway, probably.

Anyway, I read it on Saturday and by Saturday evening I had decided it was time to go. I’ve had some money saved up, and some more coming in from some side work and it all just seemed right. So, I’ve decided to take off for at least 6 months. I’m giving up my house, and my dog, and a lot of my things, and my job and I’m going to pack a small bag and see how much of the world I can see before I run out of money.

Don’t worry, I promise I’ll write.

My plans so far are pretty nebulous. I’m thinking I’ll start in Australia and then fly to Asia. My stated goal is that I want to set foot on all seven continents. Everyone keeps telling me I won’t be able to hit Antarctica which of course makes me want to do it even more.

So yea, keep your eyes peeled for a going out of business sale at Jason’s house.

AND THEN it was New Years! I threw a giant New Years Eve party at my house, as usual, and it was a great, great time. The theme was “Thrift Store Formal” which meant that you had to dress nice (suits, dresses and such) but only in what you could get at your local Salvation Army. My suit, for instance, ran me right around $6. Ryan and Megan came up from Oklahoma and an incredible time was had by all. Or, at least, me.

And… let’s see, at some point in there I saw Amon Amarth, and Namelessnumberheadman, and The Faint!, and The White Ghost Shivers and probably some other bands too.

And I revived the balloon project! Did I already mention that? It’s coming along nicely. I have a renewed interest in electronics and I made my first ever PCB tonight.

Other stuff? Probably.